Thursday, February 26, 2009

Non Stop Intrigue. A True Spy Novel for the 21st Century (5 stars) - a book review

Brief Synopsis:The protagonist, Milo Weaver, is a former Tourist from the CIA. As a tourist, he traveled from country to country learning information, protecting USA interests, eliminating threats, and other cool spy stuff. Since retiring, Weaver has become a husband and a step father. He is brought back into the world of espionage when one of his friends is believed to be a traitor selling USA secrets. Although he has a difficult time justifying his intent in setting up his friend he realizes that nothing is what it seems in the world of spies; including friendships. Naturally, a quick day trip for his assignment quickly derails when people start dying and he starts learning additional information.

Overall Impressions:THE TOURIST was a wonderful espionage thriller. The author, Olen Steinhauer has crafted a believable world full of interesting characters, each with their own flaws. As with any good spy novel, there is intrigue at every corner, deception during every interaction, and a master plot that is unveiled one agonizing piece at a time.

The main character, Milo Weaver, is constantly struggling with depression and the life he thought he had left behind for a family. While globetrotting around the world, he is constantly left with the moral obligation to keep his family and friends out of harms way.

THE TOURIST is classic espionage reminiscent of THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE and other David Morrell books. It has been a long time since I read such a clever, fast paced, intriguing, and awe inducing espionage book. I applaud every aspect of this book and look forward to more publications by Steinhauer in the years to come.

Recommendations:The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morrell;The Fraternity of the Stone by David Morrell; and,The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Update: 1/10/10: I have updated the cost analysis to reflect the lower Kindle 2 price tag of $259. That post can be found here.

With Amazon's new Kindle 2.0 having such a heavy start-up cost ($359.00), one might wonder if it is a sound financial investment. Exactly, how many books will be necessary to read in order to "break even" compared to purchasing physical books? Of course, financial concerns aside, there are plenty of other non-tangible reasons to purchase a Kindle (or any e-reader) including wasting less paper, convenience of book access, and size. I created a spreadsheet that can be easily modified to book reading preference which will illustrate some rudimentary cost savings with some basic assumptions.Photo courtesy of Kindle 2.0 product page

One thing to keep in mind is the numbers proposed should be considered averages or assumptions. Obviously, it also depends on book buying patterns. I, for one, rarely buy hardback books. I may work on my spreadsheet more if I have nothing better to do than create Excel formulas that would project semi-random purchases of hardbacks (or paperbacks).

Brief Synopsis:THE WAY OF SHADOWS starts out following a young boy by the name of Azoth and the reader is immediately introduced to the troubled life of guild rats in the slums of the Warrens. Life is hard, and is especially hard for Azoth who takes it upon himself to look after the other guild rats.

Azoth's luck changes when the most accomplished and deadly assassin (wetboy), DurzoBlint, agrees to take Azoth in as his apprentice, providing Azoth with the opportunity to leave his old life behind and learn the trade of hiding in the shadows, all sorts of medicinal poisons, and the art of weaponry and killing. The price to be allowed to be Durzo's apprentice? Killing the corrupt and brutal leader of Azoth's current guild.

Thus begins the compelling transformation of Azoth into Kylar Stern, a killing machine in his own right. He is cleverly placed in with a family so he can learn the art of politics and nobility and further establish his new persona.

On top of following the master and the apprentice through countless training exercises the reader sees a city in turmoil and under siege.

Overall Impressions:THE WAY OF SHADOWS is one of the best recent fantasy books I have read, if not one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. There are many strengths to this engaging book; but, one of the strongest is definitely the characters and their moral/ethical dilemmas. THE WAY OF SHADOWS is an emotional ride of vengeance, mercy, justice, terror, and humor.

While learning the ways of being an accomplished wetboy, Kylar has a continuous dialogue about his purpose and him wondering when his master, Durzo, will actually kill him at a moment's notice. Kylar and Durzo's dialogues are in top form, and masterfully written. They are believable characters, with believable motivations and interests.

The political nature of this book adds a certain element which is only enhanced by the political power of the wetboys, used as tools for the bigger picture. There is so much development throughout the book that it could almost be overwhelming; but, Weeks does a masterful job of stringing the reader along and introducing only as much information as is necessary to further the plot and satisfy the reader without overwhelming the reader with pages and pages of history, lore, and development.

Finally, the book shines in the raw portrayal of an assassin's life, putting the assassins against others and themselves as they struggle to follow the "wetboy code" that is counter intuitive to their moral fiber.

Overall, I would not miss this book if you are a fan of the fantasy genre or like political intrigue and assassin books. I would certainly recommend keeping Brent Weeks on your radar as he has the potential to become one of the next great fantasy writers.

Friday, February 20, 2009

My wife and just got back from vacation about a week ago and I am finally getting around to uploading some pictures. We went on a cruise that stopped in Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Cozumel, Mexico. It was a seven day cruise through Royal Caribbean, so we had three days at sea. It was extremely relaxing and we had not a care in the world; exactly how vacations should be.

Our first stop was in Roatan, where we went to the beach for the morning through the early afternoon. It was possibly the most beautiful beach I have ever been on. I have never seen a beach so clean, and the water was absolutely gorgeous.

At the beginning of this day I applied ample amounts of sunscreen, as directed by the packaging. I reapplied twice while on the beach and once more when I returned to the ship and sat on the top deck reading. The sunscreen was Neutrogena Ultra Sheer spray. To recap, I correctly applied this suncreen four times over the course of six hours. I was absolutely baked the next day! It was terrible, and my left shoulder was nearly purple. I should have taken a picture of the burn... I can not recommend avoiding this product enough. I should have made a shirtless video review to post on Amazon. Regardless of how terrible my burn was, I still managed to enjoy the rest of the cruise.

The following day, in Costa Maya, Mexico, where we went to Chaccoben, an ancient Maya city. I had always wanted to visit a Maya city. My wife was not as impressed, and commented on how she would rather be in the ocean with a cocktail. The following picture will show the sign that is the overlay of the city. Many of the buildings are still under foilage, rocks, and overgrown with jungle; but, you could see where they were.

We started the tour at the first temple (number 3 on the sign).

I thought this was pretty neat, and was not expecting to see much more. However, as we got further in the tour, we came upon a set of thirty some large stone steps. We were allowed to go up them (which was not allowed on the first temple).

Coming to the top of the stairs, I was blown away at the sight before me. Not only were there stairs to the top, but there was an entire level of grassland and several temples. This must have been a massive undertaking when constructed. The raised area contained temples 7, 8, 9, and 10.

This was the biggest temple on the top (number 10 on the sign).:

I made a panoramic picture of the area, which unfortunately I cannot make much bigger than it will show. If you would like the entire picture to see it in glorious detail, send me an email and I will attach it to the response. You can see on the left side of the picture two more small temples which had specific functions. The small temple on the right was used only by the astronomy families. Our guide also told us that it is believed that the temples were originally painted in red dye.

In Cozumel, Mexico, we went around with a couple from our dinner table that we had become friends with. Afterwards, we went on a Catmaran sailing excursion where did some SCUBA and then were dropped off at a beach for a little while.

Here are some pictures from the ship:

It was a great trip. I read a ton. I finished four books and clocked 1950 pages over the course of seven days.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Note: I was on vacation for the past week and thus unable to post when the following event occured (since I chose not to pay the $0.55/minute internet cost on the cruise I went on).

In a recent post I proposed (along with 90% of the world) that at Amazon's February 9 "mystery" press conference, Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO) would announce the release date for the Amazon Kindle 2.0. The following may come as a shock; but, I (we) were correct. The Amazon Kindle 2.0 will be available on February 24, 2009.

Since I am not planning on getting one anytime soon because of the $359 sticker price, I get to sit back and watch the show and see if it grabs hold of the reading world and revolutionizes the way we read. In my opinion, it is inevitable that e-reading devices take over, just as the iPod has nearly put the nail in the coffin for Compact Disks. No matter what camp you are in ("electronic reading is the wave of the future" versus "reading without a physical book is insane") one thing is for sure: in a climate geared more towards sustainability and with businesses pinching every peeny, publishers will be selling more electronic documents and less physical books. A publisher can produce (and sell) a book electronically for a fraction of the cost of a physical book AND increasing revenue exponentially. Sometimes the bottom line forces innovation.

I suggested on January 27 to purchase Amazon stock (AMZN) at $48.40 per share. My hypothetical investment (since I was unable to convince my wife of the coming revolution in the book world) of 100 shares at the time would have cost me $4840. Approximately a week and a half later I checked back and my hypothetical investment would have yielded me a net profit of approximately $1,800. AMZN stock is now selling at $61.67, yielding me a profit of $1327. Obviously it is slightly down now from my initial check, and this could be for several reasons, including the Author's Guild's concern that the text to speech infringes on author and publisher rights, the high sticker price which was rumored to be around $250 months ago, and the troubling market in general.

As I mentioned, my wife was not convinced by my argument. She responded something along the lines of "Now is not the time to be gambling in the stock market." And of course, her logic is solid, but for the sake of sensationalism, I simply responded, "It's not a gamble if it is a lock!

We crabbed shoulder to shoulder down cargo nets to our landing craft bucking in the Channel, each GI's bilge-and-sea-soaked boots drenching his buddy below. In that moment I realized that we fight not for flags or against tyrants but for each other. For whatever remains of my life, those barely met strangers who dangled around me will be my only family. Strip away politics, and, wherever or whenever, war is an orphanage.

Brief Synopsis:The story starts with Jason Wander, a somewhat misguided youth with two options: join the military or go to jail. Enter the devastation caused by the alien race later termed as "the slugs." The story follows Wander and his exploits in basic training and the planning behind the first counter offensive against the slugs on their base on one of Jupiter's moons.

Overall Impressions:ORPHANAGE, by Robert Buettner, may remind many readers of STARSHIP TROOPERS, by Robert Heinlein, and rightfully so.I have seen some discussion about how it was written as a tribute or to STARSHIP TROOPERS. The basic plots are the same, but they are different enough for mutual appreciation.

As a side note, STARSHIP TROOPERS is one of my favorite books. I judge military science fiction on two things:

How often the phrase "bought the farm" is used; and,

How many moments there are that are only funny when taken outside the context of the military and wartime.

While somewhat superficial, at face value you can derive a lot from military science fiction from those two criteria (and by no means am I serious that a book like this is only good based on these two things; especially since ORPHANAGE only says "bought the farm" once). For one, even though ORPHANAGE is set in the future, the moments that are only humorous outside the context of war, only bring a real time element to the book. It is easy to relate to a story, however far into the future it may be. Believability is incredibly important, and by using elements that are prevalent in today's society, an author (in this case Buettner) makes the story believable and easy in which to relate.

More importantly than the plot, Buettner has created a cast of characters that go on a roller coaster of emotional responses. Wander has superior officers and friends that he interacts with that the reader with which the reader becomes attached. The characters are given countless moral dilemmas that add to their depth. Upon the invasion of Jupiter's moon, war becomes war, and with casualties amounting the way Wander and the characters respond is remarkable. Promotions, demotions, and stress exacerbate the chaos that is war. ORPHANAGE has everything that a military science fiction book should: believable and memorable characters, a tragic premise, and lots of action.

Closing Comments:One problem I have with the book is the fact that it is written in first person from the perspective of Jason Wander. Unfortunately, as explained previously, there are many great characters and I would have liked to hear more of their internal dialogue. However, I do not believe the story would be as compelling if not told from Wander's perspective. I normally do not prefer first person stories, but ORPHANAGE is a wonderful exception.

Another thing that separates ORPHANAGE from STARSHIP TROOPERS is the fact that ORPHANAGE is just the start of a series. At the conclusion of this book the reader only has more to look forward to.

Plants and Books

This blog will be mainly dedicated to book reviews, literature announcements, and book/author commentary. My favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy; however, I also read a wide variety of books including thrillers, baseball and sporting event histories, historical fiction, environmental dialogues, and spy/espionage books.

As a general guideline, I post all my reviews on this blog, at Amazon, and at GoodReads. Occasionally, if an author or publisher sends me a book at no cost and asks me to review the book I will not post the review on a sales website if I cannot write a positive review (or at least a review that recommends the book to others).

If you are an author or publisher and would like me to review a book please contact me by email.